USA "FIVE CENTS" Buffalo Nickel 1917
USA, San Francisco
Rarity
Common
Attributes of Coins
| Region | USA |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 5 cents |
| Krause number | KM# 134 |
| Mintage | 4,193,000 |
| Metal | Copper-Nickel |
| thickness | 1.95 mm |
| diameter | 21.21 mm |
| weight | 5 g |
Obverse:
Great people
Description:
Iron Tail (Native American, chief of the Oglala Lakota)
Creators:
James Earle Fraser (F)
LIBERTY
Reverse:
Animals
Description:
Bison
Creators:
James Earle Fraser (F)
E PLURIBUS UNUM
FIVE CENTS
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Introduction of Coins
While there is a small quantity of extremely well struck 1917 S nickels coined from fresh dies, the vast majority of Mint State survivors have an overall softness of detail that does not affect one portion of the design in particular. Rather than being the product of die erosion, it appears that such coins were just struck with the dies having too great a set distance, perhaps to extend their useful life. Another possibility is that the planchets were not properly annealed and remained resistant to striking. Circulated examples across all grades are fairly scarce, with many being identifiable by only partial remains of numerals 17. Two styles of S mintmark were used this year. The first punch was created for use with the Lincoln Cent in 1909 and then extended to other denominations, while the second appeared early in 1917 and remained in use as late as 1942.Read More
